Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) Stock Price Up 4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ovintiv shares rose 4% to approximately $68.80 in Friday trading, although volume was 69% below the stock’s average session volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Ovintiv has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating, with an average price target of $70.64. Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Scotia recently raised their price targets.
• The company reported quarterly revenue of $3.01 billion, exceeding expectations, but earnings per share of $1.74 missed consensus estimates of $1.94. Ovintiv also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.30, representing a 1.7% yield.

Ovintiv Inc. (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) shares rose 4% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $68.54 and last traded at $68.7990. 1,223,385 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 3,929,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OVV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ovintiv from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ovintiv from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Texas Capital raised shares of Ovintiv to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Ovintiv in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Scotia boosted their price target on shares of Ovintiv from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.64.

Ovintiv Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50-day moving average is $63.40 and its 200 day moving average is $59.43.

Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. Ovintiv had a return on equity of 14.84% and a net margin of 9.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ovintiv Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Ovintiv Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Ovintiv's dividend payout ratio is 33.90%.

Insider Activity at Ovintiv

In other Ovintiv news, EVP Rachel Moore sold 7,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.32, for a total value of $490,919.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 72,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,592,599.60. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ovintiv

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steph & Co. bought a new position in Ovintiv in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the second quarter worth $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the second quarter worth $32,000. Markowski Investments bought a new stake in shares of Ovintiv during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ovintiv by 43.2% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 918 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.81% of the company's stock.

Ovintiv Company Profile

Ovintiv Inc NYSE: OVV is an energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and operation of oil and natural gas properties. Its production includes crude oil, condensate, plant condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

The company's operations are concentrated in North America, with core assets in the Permian Basin, Uinta Basin and Anadarko Basin in the United States, as well as the Montney region in western Canada. Ovintiv also owns and operates related processing, gathering and other midstream infrastructure that supports the production and transportation of its energy products.

Ovintiv was formerly known as Encana Corporation and adopted its current name in 2020.

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